Sunday, August 06, 2017

Utah Valley 2017: Jason Bolts for Boston!

On June 10th, Jason rocked the Utah Valley Marathon. Now wait a second, I hear you saying, didn't he run the Ogden Marathon just a few weeks earlier? Why yes! Yes, he did. Jason felt so strong after Ogden that he decided to give qualifying for Boston one more try. He registered for Utah Valley at the last minute, snagging one of the few remaining spots by paying a bit more to be a VIP runner.

Being a VIP had a few perks. Jason and I both got to attend a pre-race spaghetti dinner. I was positively blown away by the number of people who had run dozens, if not hundreds, of marathons. He was also guaranteed a spot on the last bus up the canyon, plus he got a snazzy hat. The real perk, however, was that he didn't have to do much extra training since he was already in tip top shape from Ogden.

The kids and I got up at the crack of dawn so that we could cheer Jason along the course. Here we are waiting at the top of University Avenue. (Eli was our photographer.)

Celebrating like crazy as we see Jason coming.

Keeping pace with my hubby for a short while.

I left my phone in the car during the hustle to beat Jason to the finish line, so I don't have any pictures of his finish. Not that I could have photographed anyway. I was too busy sprinting alongside while hollering embarrassing comments about how my hubby was the sexiest guy on the course.

As always, the end was super tough, but Jason pushed through. He ran an overall 7:10 pace, finishing in an amazing 3:07:49. That was eleventh in his division and fiftieth overall. Congratulations, Peanut Butter! I'm so amazed!

As you can see, we were all so proud.

Best of all, this fantastic finishing time was a Boston Qualifier! As proof, Jason got this really nifty running shirt.

Woot woot!

Now for the nitty gritty. Even though Jason beat the Boston Qualifying standard of 3:10 by more than two minutes, he may or may not actually be able to secure a spot in the race. It all depends on the number of people trying to register. Either way, Jason ran magnificently.

Following Jason's finish, we took the kids to BYU to show them our favorite old haunts. Note Brooklyn snugging up to Cosmo.

Checking out the ducks at the art museum.

Purty rainbow!

What you can't see in this photo is Jason collapsed on the bench behind taking a well-deserved nap.

Congratulations again, Jason! May your future be filled with many more endorphin-filled, lightning quick bolts.